Coleman Glacier is located on Mount Baker in the North Cascades of Washington. Situated on the west slopes of Mount Baker, Coleman Glacier is bordered by the Roosevelt Glacier to the north and the Heliotrope Ridge to the south. Coleman Glacier was named for Edmund Thomas Coleman, who was part of the first mountaineering team to climb Mount Baker in 1868.
The view of the glacier and the peak of Mount Baker is well worth the approximate 485 meter elevation gain and 3~4 hour round trip hike on a well established trail. Do note there are four stream crossings, #3 in particular potentially challenging. At the worst of times it might even be impassable.
Glacial morphology is displayed in full glory including lateral morraines (forming the two ridges on either side of the glacier), crevasses, and terminal morraine (the ridge of sediment at the base of the glacier).
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sheet. It may consist of partly rounded particles ranging in size from boulders (in which case it is often referred to as boulder clay) down to gravel and sand, in a groundmass of finely-divided clayey material sometimes called glacial flour. Lateral moraines are those formed at the side of the ice flow, and terminal moraines are those formed at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines (till-covered areas forming sheets on flat or irregular topography) and medial moraines (moraines formed where two glaciers meet).
Questions:
- Is the glacier moraine sorted or unsorted?
- What types of moraine do you see here? Please describe the glacier / moraine in front of you.
- What is another common term used for moraine?
- What are the characteristics of a glacial moraine?
- Please post a picture of yourself (or something distinct about you, a name tag, pathtag, etc.) @ the GZ.
Come and check out Coleman Glacier!